Tunga penetrans: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Tunga penetrans Tunga penetrans

Where the Tunga penetrans lives, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Recorded in (GBIF)Representative wild record

Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 7 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See grasshoppers, bugs & other insects on the world map

No free-licence photo of a live animal was found on Wikimedia Commons.

Scientific name	Tunga penetrans
Group	Grasshoppers, bugs & other insects
Class	Insect
Order	Siphonaptera
Family	Tungidae

What kind of animal is the Tunga penetrans?

The Tunga penetrans (Tunga penetrans) is an insect in the order Siphonaptera and the family Tungidae, genus Tunga. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Tunga penetrans

Tunga penetrans is a species of flea also known as the jigger, jigger flea, chigoe, chigo, chigoe flea, chigo flea, nigua, sand flea, or burrowing flea. It is a parasitic insect found in most tropical and sub-tropical climates. In its parasitic stage it can cause significant health issues for its hosts, including humans and certain other mammals. An infestation of T. penetrans is called tungiasis. Jiggers are often confused with chiggers, which are a type of mite and not related. The species is native to Central and South America, and has also been introduced to sub-Saharan Africa.

Synonyms for Tunga penetrans include Sarcopsylla penetrans, Pulex penetrates, and many others.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Tunga penetrans (revision 1377264273), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q133413 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).